Chaim Volper

Rabbi Chaim Volper was one of the leading disciples of the Maggid of Mezeritch and a profound master of Chassidic thought — who, in the final years of his life, fell into alcoholism and wandered in poverty from town to town.

The book Beis Rebbe notes that his first name was not known to the author. A later source records a claim that his name was Shlomo Lutzker, but this appears to be a confusion with an entirely different figure — Rabbi Shlomo of Lutzk, one of the Maggid's greatest disciples, who remained a tzaddik and holy man until the end of his days and counted Rabbi Shalom of Belz among his own disciples.

Life

He was born to Rabbi Karpil.

In his early years he was counted among the most distinguished of the Maggid of Mezeritch's circle. The book Beis Rebbe records: "In the beginning he was the greatest among the fellowship, and all of them would go to hear from him the teachings of the Maggid, for he would repeat the words exactly as they were spoken and with fine understanding." The book Toras Shalom similarly records that among the Maggid's disciples, two had received the Maggid's Torah in its entirety: Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin fell ill with dysentery; Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev would be transported beyond himself in deveikut (attachment to G‑d) and overwhelming rapture. "Only our great master [the Alter Rebbe] and the Rav of Vaalfa received it."

He was also among the founders of the Chassidic court of Karlin together with Rabbi Shlomo and Rabbi Aharon of Karlin.

His name "Wolfer" derives from his having served as rabbi of the small town of Volpa, near Karlin; it is also possible he served as a dayan (rabbinic judge) in Karlin itself.

His Departure from Chassidus

The Maggid is said to have remarked about him: "A worm is eating at him, and I do not know which will prevail — him or the worm." When Rabbi Wolfer heard this said, he understood the words as referring not to himself but to another disciple who had not been present (Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin). See Writings of R' Yasheh Shochet.

In the Alter Rebbe's written response to the letter of denunciation filed against him by the Russian authorities, he refers to Rabbi Wolfer and states that he left the path of Chassidus for money and honor. The Alter Rebbe's words: "That man from the town of Vaalpa is known and recognized by all — he wanted to become a great rabbi, so that people would travel from all the towns to hear his sermons and give him much money, saying that he preaches better than his townsman Reb Shlomo. He traveled to many places, preached extensively, and sought large sums of money. When they did not accept him as rabbi and did not pay him as he wished, his heart turned to hatred and he traveled to Vilna."

His Final Years

In his final years he fell into heavy drinking and wandered as a beggar between the towns.

Once he arrived at a gathering where the Alter Rebbe was delivering a maamar (a formal Chassidic discourse). He listened to the maamar, and when it concluded said: "We all ate from the same bowl — but he took the richest part (di gantze gedichte iz ba im geblieben)" — meaning that though he too had been among the Maggid's disciples, the Alter Rebbe had surpassed them all and explained his master's Torah in the finest possible way. When the Alter Rebbe learned that Rabbi Wolfer had come and had been allowed to leave without being stopped, he was pained — for he had wanted to prevent him from continuing to wander.Template:Citation needed

On another occasion, Rabbi Boruch Mordechai Ettinger encountered him at an inn. When Rabbi Ettinger stepped away from his belongings for a moment, Rabbi Wolfer began searching through them for some written teaching of the Maggid. When caught in the act, Rabbi Wolfer said to him: "With you, the Rebbe and the Torah are one thing and the Chassidim are another — that is why you need written texts. But with us, the Rebbe, the Torah, and the Chassidim are one."

On yet another occasion he was found lying drunk on top of a stove in a tavern in Vilna, murmuring profound ideas to himself. Rabbi Yudel Liefler, a disciple of the Vilna Gaon, heard him and asked where he had learned such things. Rabbi Wolfer replied: "From the one I received it from, you can no longer receive — but if you want such Torah, go to Liozna." That man did indeed travel to Liozna and became one of the great Chassidim of the Alter Rebbe, who later sent him to serve as rabbi of a large town.

Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin remarked of him: "It seems to me that he passed away in a state of teshuvah (repentance)."

His Disciples

• Rabbi Simcha of Pinsk — described as "very great, a worker of wonders, deeply versed in the writings of the Arizal and the holy Zohar"
• Rabbi Uziel Yaffe — described as "great in Torah and so on"; his son is Rabbi Avraham Chaim Rosenberg
• Rabbi Zerach of Pinsk — a commentary on the Etz Chaim in his handwriting survives, in which he claims to have laid foundations for understanding the entire system of the Arizal through the lens of Chassidus
• Rabbi Avigdor Steinberg ("the Ascetic of Odor")

His Son-in-Law

Rabbi Aryeh Leib, Av Beis Din of Volpa — who preserved in his writings some of Rabbi Wolfer's interpretations, such as his explanation of what it means to study Torah for its own sake.

Further Reading

• Rabbi Yehoshua Mondshine, HaMaasar HaRishon (5772) — contains a dedicated chapter reviewing Rabbi Wolfer's life
• Sipurei Chassidim by Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin — first story in the portion of Lech Lecha

External Links

• His biography in Beis Rebbe on HebrewBooks.org